Rep. Meier files bill to oppose vehicle mileage tax

January 24, 2018

State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) filed legislation opposing any potential tax on the number of miles driven by Illinois motorists. A mileage tax placed on Illinois drivers continues to be a topic of discussion in the state legislature.

According to State Rep. Charlie Meier, “A vehicle mileage tax is outrageous, it would impose undue hardship and disproportionately impact rural Illinoisans who must drive longer distances to work and school. A tax on miles driven places a burden on downstate motorists, a proposal I cannot and will not support.”

The following mileage tax proposals under consideration would offer Illinois drivers a variety of bad options which include:

• A fee of 1.5¢ per mile driven on public, non-tolled Illinois roads using GPS tracking technology and the GPS tracking would be in a smartphone app or a tracking device similar to the I-Pass (or EZ-Pass) and would monitor the location of each driver to calculate how many miles were driven in Illinois each month.

• Another plan would impose a fee of 1.5¢ per mile driven, but based on monthly odometer readings instead of GPS tracking technology.

• An additional plan would be a Flat Rate Plan of an annual fee of $450.

Rep. Meier added, “A tax on miles driven is already bad, even worse would be to allow our government to use GPS tracking on every driver. This would create privacy concerns for all Illinoisans, and expose personal and confidential information that could lead to a security breach. The proposed vehicle mileage tax will put Illinois government one step closer to towards receiving the nanny state of the year award.”